2015 National Signing Day: Top-rated Utah athletes moving beyond their state borders for college

Even after looking all the pros and cons of each school offering him a football scholarship, Salem Hills (Salem) senior Porter Gustin still struggled to find a clear answer for which one was the best fit.

Gustin discussed his decision with his parents until the early morning hours before a press conference where he would announce where he was going to play. It finally came down to a gut feeling and he sent his parents a text at 3:15 a.m. announcing which school he would choose.

"It was tough," Gustin said. "It came down to the last minute, but I feel like I made the right decision."

The highly-touted linebacker, ranked no. 2 among Utah's 2015 prospects, committed to USC and signed a national letter of intent with the Trojans on Wednesday. Gustin's decision reflected a growing trend among top Utah high school athletes.

An increasing number of highly-rated athletes in Utah are leaving the state for major programs nationwide. In-state schools like BYU, Utah and Utah State no longer have a stranglehold on recruiting within the state.

USC snagged the state's top two 2015 prospects – Gustin and Brighton (Salt Lake City) linebacker Osa Masina. Corner Canyon (Draper) lineman Branden Bowen signed with Ohio State. Michigan State landed Taylorsville defensive end Mufi Hunt. Stanford picked up Bountiful running back Houston Heimuli and Timpview (Provo) defensive end Gabe Reid. Oregon State reeled in Hunter (West Valley City) defensive end Noah Togiai, East (Salt Lake City) linebacker Christian Folau and American Fork running back Lopini Katoa.

It paints a clear picture. Utah prep athletes are willing to look outside their own geographic comfort zone to play at the next level and plenty of major Division I schools are ready to come in and offer them scholarships.

"Utah is a sleeping giant," Taylorsville coach Rod Wells said. "People are just figuring out the state of Utah has some really good athletes — football players specifically. So BYU, Utah and Utah State are not guaranteed the kids from Utah any more. They're going to go out and do what's best for them."

For Hunt, choosing Michigan State offers him a chance to blaze new trails. It is far from home and family. But when he joins the Spartans in 2017, following an LDS mission, Hunt likes the idea of building a new tradition by going to a non-traditional destination for Polynesian players.

"That's the cool part about it," Hunt said. "Hopefully, we start getting a Polynesian pipeline there from Utah and from everywhere. That's the exciting thing about it. It's just starting."

It wasn't an easy decision by any means. Hunt made it a matter of fasting and prayer and literally did not settle on Michigan State until 10 minutes before he was set to announce his decision to the local media.

Once other schools outside BYU and Utah started recruiting Hunt, he opened his mind to a bigger picture and he realized his football future was not limited to what his home state offered.

"Every school felt like a perfect fit to me but, at the end of the day, when we prayed, our answer came back Michigan State," Hunt said. "(I liked) the coaching staff there, the people there and just the level of football there."
 
This trend is likely to grow. The talent pool within Utah's borders has grown significantly over the past decade as the state's population has boomed and coaching at youth levels has improved. Modern technology has also made it easier to get film on athletes into the hands of college coaches from coast to coast.

Younger Utah athletes coming up through the ranks can dream of playing literally anywhere now.

"Those younger kids are starting to see it," Salem Hills coach Joel Higginson said. "This is a dream come true for Porter and for many kids that have an opportunity to play high school football; this is the ultimate dream. When they get to see that it's real and it's tangible in their hometown — that hard work and discipline can get you there — it's good for the program."

It felt a little surreal at times for Gustin when he was being offered scholarships from a host of FBS schools all over the nation. The depth of attention once seemed almost impossible for an athlete coming from a small Utah school.

Now Gustin heads to a traditional football power in USC with a chance to show that recruiting in Utah is worth the effort for any school.

"It's just great to represent Utah," Gustin said. "I feel like there's a lot more athletes coming out of Utah now and it's always getting better and better."

John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps. You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports.